While linusmoran wrote: ‘Looks like we have #Eurovision in the bag this year with Engelbert Humperdink ! Great strategy to torture the block voting europeans !!’

The 75-year-old, whose greatest hits include Release Me, The Last Waltz and The Way It Used To Be, is now the oldest contestant to sing in this year’s Eurovision.

The grandfather of nine said last night: âWhen the BBC approached me, it just felt right for me to be a part of anÂ institution like Eurovision.â

Humperdink did get some supprt on Twitter with David_Flynn saying: ‘Think Engelbert Humperdink could be a stroke of genius, but question is will BBC remember it’s a song contest this year and let us decide?’

The singer will battle it out at the contest with Jedward, who have been picked to represent Ireland.

Bookies have already slashed his odds of winning to 10/1 from 16/1 with Sweden the 4/1 favourites to win followed closely by Serbia at 8/1.

This yearâs event takes place in theÂ Azerbaijan capital, Baku, on May 26.